Bubblegum Blonde (3 page)

I stood still, in total shock until his scent hit me. The fragrance of his musky aftershave and the natural scent of his skin enveloped me. My inner hoochie took over, and I let myself melt into him.

I know, I know, it was a seriously bad move, but give a girl a break. My love life had been practically nonexistent for the past year, and sad to say, I'd been head over heels in love with Jason at one time…until he betrayed me.

I felt him press his lips against the top of my head.

Oh, God! Not that! Not the tender, you're so-special head kiss! Abort! Abort!

I forced myself to pull away before things got really out of hand, and I did something stupid like let my hormones take over. There was no way on Heaven or Earth I was going back down that road again. That sucker was full of potholes.

"I'll get started today and call you if I find anything."

He smiled and some of the tension visibly lifted from his body. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"I do." I smiled and turned back to my desk, then pressed the intercom button.

"Yes?" Kelly's voice echoed in the room between us.

"Mr. King will be paying you for our services on his way out. Charge him the cheating-arrogant-fool rate."

"You got it, boss," she answered, and I could hear the grin in her voice.

Jason chuckled and shook his head as he strode to the door and grasped the knob.

"Same ol' Barb."

He grinned once more at me over his shoulder and exited my office.

I shrugged because, really, what could I say? He was right. I was the same ol' Barb, and I was happy with that.

I just hoped he wasn't the same old Jason, because if he was, he'd be sitting in big-boy jail by the end of the week, and I'd be back to not being able to pay the light bill.

"You agreed to do what?"

I cringed at the deadly look Kelly cast me from across the desk.

If looks could kill, I'd be dead with a capital D.

"I know you're angry, and you have every right to be, but I couldn't just let him walk out of here knowing that he may very well be innocent.

She continued to look at me with a,
you-expect-me-to-believe-that
expression.

"Seriously, Kelly, could you live with yourself if you knew an innocent man was spending life in prison because you were too afraid to help him?"

She scrunched up her nose and pursed her lips. "No," she finally admitted. "But is that the real reason you agreed to help him? Or is it because you two used to be engaged?
Which
, by the way," she wagged her finger at me, "I'm still pissed you didn't tell me about." She flipped me off.

Maybe some of the reason I wanted to help Jason was because of our past. Maybe a small part of me wanted to prove to him that I was good at this private investigating thing, which was something he always laughed at me for dreaming about. But I'd never admit it.

I groaned. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jason. We happened before I opened the office. Besides, it's not like our relationship is something that I like to remember." I shrugged and tried to explain. "I loved him. He loved to roll around with other women. I'm completely over him. End of story."

And I was. Getting over Jason took a while, several bottles of wine, and a few sappy chick flicks, but after all this time, I really was over him.

"And this is the same guy you put our rears on the line for because you think he's innocent? How can you trust him after what he did to you?"

I shrugged one shoulder. "I feel it in my gut. Besides, he cheated on me, he didn't sell me out to the mob or something."

She pursed her red lips. "I don't know, Barb. This case, it sounds like more trouble than it's worth. What if he's lying?"

"I know," I admitted, "but just think about it, Kelly. This case, if we can crack it, could make us. Can you imagine what kind of cases people would bring to us if we discovered who really killed Lydia Hatchett? We wouldn't have to hunt cheaters all day everyday just to make ends meet."

"Chasing cheaters is sort of fun. We get to see all kinds of crazy stuff." Kelly grinned.

I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut because she was right. Busting a cheater could be exciting, and you never knew what you were going to see.

We'd seen some things I still couldn't get out of my head. There were just some things a person could never unsee.

"But"—she sighed and shook her head—"I'll do whatever you need me to do. We need to be extra careful with this one. Make sure we dot our I's and cross our T's. The last thing we want is the police department thinking that we're stepping on their toes and shutting us down."

"You don't have to remind me," I said and meant every word. The last place I wanted to end up because of a shifty ex-boyfriend was in the slammer…or labor and delivery, but that's a completely different story.

"So, where should we start?" she asked.

I spat my now-flavorless bubblegum in the trashcan, then immediately popped a new piece in my mouth.

"I think we need to start by digging into the pasts of Robert and Lydia Hatchett and Jason as well. We need to get a peek at their financials, anything they might have had their thumbs into, pending deals, and so on, in case Lydia was the victim of some deal gone wrong."

"Done." Kelly made a note on the yellow legal pad she held.

I still wasn't used to Kelly's lack of tech knowledge. She still used an ancient-looking flip phone that had definitely seen better days…in the nineties.

"I'll call up Mandy. If anyone can find that info, it's her."

"Perfect." I nodded. "I know it's her day off, but we could really use her help."

I grabbed my cell phone and dialed the number to the local police department.

"What are you doing?" Kelly asked.

"Calling the police station to see if by some chance I can see the police report or at least get
some
information on the case."

"You think they'll let you see the file?" Kelly raised her eyebrows.

"If this were a simpler case, yeah, but with this one being high profile, no." I shook my head. "But it can't hurt to try. The worst they can do is tell me no, then I'm right back where we started."

She nodded and continued to dial Mandy's number while I waited for the police station to pick up.

On the third ring a perky dispatcher answered. "Police Department. This is Tiffany. How can I help you?"

"This is Barb Jackson of Jackson Investigations. I need to speak with the detective in charge of the Lydia Hatchett case."

"Sure. Let me see if he's in. Just one moment."

The dispatcher put me on hold, and a second later, the worst elevator version of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" I'd ever heard filled my ears. I had the fleeting thought that whoever had the brilliant idea to destroy that song needed a swift kick in the rump.

At least five minutes passed before a deep voice finally came over the line.

"Detective Black. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Barb Jackson of Jackson Investigations. I'd like to speak to you about the Lydia Hatchett case."

"What about it?"

He was quite brusque, but I brushed it off. He was a detective. He had a lot on his plate.

"Well, for starters," I began, "I've been approached by someone concerning the case. I'd like to see the case file if possible to aid in my investigation."

"No can do. Sorry."

"I understand that this is an ongoing investigation, but I've been hired to look into this case as well. I'm sure you can understand and extend a little bit of professional courtesy."

"Listen, lady, I get that you're a private investigator and all, but this is an ongoing murder investigation. At this point I'm not willing to show anyone this file." I heard the snap of what sounded like a heavy folder hitting the desk. "So I'm sorry, but no. There's no way you're getting your hands on the case file."

His bluntness started to rub me the wrong way. I was doing my best to be polite, but he was making it rough.

"I understand how important this case is," I said, "but my client—"

"I can only imagine who your client is, seeing as how there's only one suspect in the case." He huffed out a breath. "Just in case you didn't hear me, this is an ongoing murder case. I can't tell you not to conduct your little investigation, but I can tell you to stay out of my way. Don't tamper with anything, and I mean anything, or I'll toss you in a cell. Understand?"

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks for your consideration," I said with all the sarcasm I could muster and ended the call. It was times like this that I longed for an old phone. I just didn't get the same satisfaction pressing the end-call button as I did when I slammed down a receiver.

"So, I'm guessing that was a no go?" Kelly asked.

"He was an ass," I said. "It looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." I smiled. The thought of digging in and really investigating sent a thrill through me that I hadn't felt since my days training to be a private investigator.

 Since some of the information we needed was private and could only be obtained with a warrant that we didn't have and couldn't get, and the cop who could share it with us was refusing to play nice and give me a peek at the goods, we needed a top-notch hacker to get us what we needed.

"Mandy said she'll be here in twenty minutes."

"Great," I said and grabbed my purse.

Mandy Willow was the best computer hacker I'd ever seen. If anyone could get their hands on Hatchett's financial records, it was Mandy.

Her brother, Ron, who—sad to say—was serving five to ten in the state pen for hacking into the wrong companies' files, taught her how to hack into just about anything.

While Mandy could do anything with a computer, when it came to working in the field, she was our last resort. She froze up worse than a mobster at confession, which left stakeouts and face-to-face meetings to Kelly and me.

"I'm going down to the station to see if I can get a look at the case file."

"Didn't that detective just tell you that you couldn't see it?"

"Yes, but Aunt Mona might have overheard something about the case, and if I play my cards right, I might be able to sneak in and get a look for myself." It was a long shot, but I had to try. "I know Mandy wouldn't have a problem hacking into the system while she's checking out Hatchett's bank accounts, but I want to do as much of this legally as possible. If I can't see the file, then I'll have Mandy hack the station's system as a last resort. In the meantime, do you think you can handle Googling the case and gathering as much information as you can from the media coverage? There might be something useful mixed in with all of the extra hooey they add to pad the story."

Kelly nodded. "Mandy taught me how to Google. I'm on it."

I wasn't too convinced that Kelly could handle the Googling, but I had to hope that when I got back to the office the computer wouldn't be damaged beyond repair.

Kelly was known to have an extremely short fuse.

Grabbing my keys, I headed out the door and called over my shoulder, "Let Mandy know what I need when she gets in, and let's get this show on the road."

"You got it, boss."

I hurried across the sidewalk and slid into the driver seat of my car. I started the ignition and pulled out onto the road and in the direction of the police station. I was in a hurry to get this case over and done with.

The sooner Jason King was out of my life the better.

*   *   *

The police station itself was a three-story, concrete structure with tinted windows and revolving doors at the entry.

I pulled up next to the curb outside the station and killed the ignition. I really didn't feel like being subjected to that little metal detector wand being passed over my body or explaining to some befuddled door guard why exactly I was carrying a gun, so I slid my weapon from the waist of my jeans and locked it in the glove compartment. Besides, if I wasn't safe in a building full of cops, I wasn't safe anywhere.

With a final check of myself in the visor mirror, I ran my fingers through my wavy blonde hair, got out of the car, and locked the doors.

The afternoon sun shone down on me like a spotlight as I made my way across the sidewalk and up the steps. I could already feel what little bit of makeup I wore starting to melt right off my face. Even though the seasons were changing and the days were becoming shorter, it was unusually hot.

The air-conditioned building called my name, and I put a little hustle in my step to get out of the midday heat before I was nothing but a sweaty puddle on the ground.

I pushed my way through the revolving doors leading into the station and breathed a sigh of relief as a gust of cool air washed over me.

The officer stationed at the door eyed me then stood up and stepped in front of the metal detector. He was heavyset and looked nearly as enthused about getting up to run my bag through the machine as I was to be in the station at all. I'd much rather have been back at the office, but instead here I was, possibly about to do something illegal.

The officer motioned for me to put my purse on the conveyer belt, so I did and then walked through the metal detector without incident. Once through the detector I reclaimed my purse. The officer was staring at the little bit of cleavage beneath the V-neck of my T-shirt with a creepy grin. I groaned, tossed my purse strap over my shoulder, and continued across the lobby. I didn't have time to tell him that he was a pig. I kind of figured that he already knew and just didn't care.

The precinct was bustling with activity, but to my surprise, the front desk looked fairly clear, so I made my way over.

"Barb! Long time no see!"

I smiled at the older woman behind the desk. "Mona, how's it going?"

"It'd be going a lot better if it was quitting time, I can tell you that. We're running shorthanded today, so I'm down here from the chief's office helping Tiffany out." She grinned. "We've been busier than a beehive." She shook her head. "But it's slowed down a little bit over the last few minutes. These people are just waiting for one of the boys in the back to come handle their problems."